The Need for Targeted Instruction in Independent Living Skills in the Curriculum
of Students with Visual Impairments
Sandra Lewis
Florida State University
One of the primary purposes of education is to prepare individuals with the
tools that allow them equal opportunity to successfully cope with the demands
typically encountered in adulthood. In general, these demands involve living with
others, managing one’s personal life, earning a living, and contributing to and
participating within the community. The tools needed to meet these demands
include knowledge and skills acquired through academic instruction, social
competency developed through interactions with others, specific vocational
preparation based on interests and aptitude, and skills of independent living.
Skills of independent living necessary for managing adult life include skills
related to personal hygiene, eating, dressing, clothing selection and care, food
preparation, money management, time management, use of the telephone,
cleaning, home maintenance, and community functioning (Hazekamp & Huebner,
1989). Within each of these broad areas are additional sub-skills that must be
mastered in order to function as interdependent individuals within society.
Acquisition of these skills and sub-skills occurs gradually for most children
beginning in infancy, primarily through watching adults and older members of
society accomplish tasks in which they are used. Children whose interest has
been piqued through vision watch carefully, ask questions, practice observed
skills in their play, and are physically and verbally guided in their attempts to
reproduce the task by competent, older members of society. Spontaneous
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instruction is provided as needed within the naturally occurring context of the task
and often involves demonstration and modeling by competent others, specific
feedback on the child’s attempt, and encouragement to practice the task, first
while helping, then independently. Because acquisition of these skills occurs
primarily within home and community environments, academic programs typically
do not incorporate specific instruction of them. That school programs do not
incorporate instruction in these skills, however, does not make them any less
critical for post-school success.
As is true for other children and youth, the acquisition of independent
living skills is crucial for the post-school success of students who are blind or who
have low vision. Visual impairment interferes with the process of the
development of independent living skills in several ways.
 Children do not clearly observe others performing tasks, so may not be
aware that the tasks even exist or that other children attempt them in
play and real situations.
 Children do not clearly observe the whole task or the techniques that
others use to perform independent living skills, so do not have a
cognitive model upon which to build skills that incorporates an
understanding of the whole task or its component parts.
 Instruction in independent living skills is complicated when the learner
cannot easily benefit from demonstration and modeling and when the
person providing the instruction does not have a well-established
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understanding of appropriate strategies for overcoming the impact of
visual impairment on learning.
 Children with visual impairment are not given enough opportunities to
practice new skills until they become fluent.
In order to achieve one of the goals of education, which is to be prepared
with the tools that allow equal opportunity to successfully cope with the demands
of adulthood, it is incumbent that students with visual impairments transition from
school with well developed independent living skills. Teachers of students with
visual impairments (TVIs) must include among their professional roles the annual
assessment of every student’s skill level in each independent living skill area and
compare that skill level to the skill levels being acquired by their same age peers,
keeping in mind that peers are often learning about skills long before they are
asked to utilize them.
For students for whom gaps in the development of independent living
skills are identified, TVIs must advocate for the inclusion of appropriate goals
related to these functional skills on Family Service Plans and Individualized
Education Programs (IEPs), as well as for the time and resources to teach these
skills to students. Strong advocacy is key, since it is tempting for people
unfamiliar with the long-term outcomes of many students with visual impairments
to believe that the acquisition of academic skills is of greater importance to postschool success. Experienced educators of students who are blind or who have
low vision, however, recognize that students without well-developed independent
living skills struggle to utilize academic knowledge within adult education,
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vocational, and community environments. A second role, then, of TVIs is to help
administrators, parents, and other members of IEP teams to realize the critical
importance of including instruction in independent living skills in the curriculum of
students who need it.
Finally, TVIs must be prepared to provide carefully designed formal
instruction in independent living skills to students from infancy until age 22 and to
assist students’ parents to know how to introduce, teach, and reinforce these
skills within the home. Instruction should be targeted to meet the assessed needs
of each student, should incorporate appropriate alternative sensory methods,
should focus on safety, fluency, and efficiency, and should facilitate development
of students’ problem solving, organizational, sensory efficiency, and selfadvocacy skills. A much as possible, instruction should occur within naturally
occurring environments and contexts, but the limited availability of either or both
of these conditions should not prevent instruction from occurring. As part of their
responsibilities, TVIs must maintain longitudinal records of students’ acquisition
of skills and assure that the development of more complex skills within any area
occurs when appropriate.
Students with visual impairments deserve to function throughout their
childhood and youth with independent living skills similar to those of their peers.
Similarly, teens with visual impairments deserve to leave high school ready to
function in the adult school, community, and work environments to which they
transition. Through assessment, advocacy, collaboration with families, targeted
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formal instruction, and a commitment to positive post-school outcomes, these
objectives are much more likely to be achieved.
Position
It is the position of DVI that children and youth with visual impairments
require carefully designed instruction in independent living skills, facilitated by
individuals who understand the impact of visual impairment on the acquisition of
general information and learning. Development of independent living skills is vital
for full integration in society. Specialized assessment and instruction must be
provided. In addition, sufficient time, resources, and support must be available to
teachers of students with visual impairments to allow them to address all the
educational needs of their students, including those related to independent living
skills. Teachers, parents, and administrators must work together in these efforts
to achieve the promise of equal opportunity, which is the overarching goal of
education.
Hazekamp, J., & Huebner, K. M. (1989). Program planning and evaluation for
blind and visually impaired students: National guidelines for educational
excellence. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
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